Kingdom Hearts: Triple Legends
by Ichida
Summary: Ekiken. A lone warrior in a rebellion against the Heartless who have overrun the planet. Kit, the tough-talking female leader of the local faction. Holly, a girl rescued from the core of a Heartless invasion. These three people are destined to meet.
1. Saint & Heart

Chapter 1: Saint & Heart

A horrific thunderstorm raged on in the unnoticeable background of the city intersection. The buildings and streets sparkled in reflective response to the torrential downpour. It was a quiet city, or at least this area was. Uncountable rows of towers and houses were left dead, devoid of purpose. Street lamps flickered on, illuminating the dead metropolis, and as if the life had been drained out of it the buzzing stopped, sending the city into darkness once again. Time stood still. It was the middle of winter and the snow had fallen, yet no footprints could be found.

A loud cry broke through the night as the sword-wielding warrior plunged his weapon down onto the creature before him - slicing it in half. Rolling forward onto one knee, he spun his blade around on his hand before gripping it and dividing another monster in two. Intimidated, the remaining creatures cringed in fear before running off in a random, befuddled manner. His weapon sparkled in the reflection shown by the rainwater running off of it. Its shape was curved, with an icy pattern. The end of the blade had a big, snowflake-like formation on it, which made the weapon look like a key.

With the threat now ceased, the fighter got to his feet. His long, mahogany jacket, which reached down just below his knees, blew back in the wind, as well as his short, grayish blonde hair. His red lapels fluttered in the breeze, as the water on his metallic neon red shoulder pads gleamed, as well as his perfect white leather shoes, covered by grains of dirt, as well as his crimson, fingerless gloves. The warrior made one slashing motion as he brought his blade to his right side, then lifted it up. The weapon evaporated, transforming into a keychain as he attached it to the button on the right front pocket on his jacket. The keychain looked like a large, stained glass snowflake. His silver-tinted eyes were momentarily covered as he blinked, clearing the dust from his eyes.

"Nice moves." a voice came from behind. His eyes lit up in surprise as he turned to see a familiar identity before he lowered his head a little, laughing to himself. "Good to see you're still alive." "Yeah, well," The woman standing there revealed her hidden hand from the other side of the corner of the building she was leaning against to reveal another long, key-like sword. It was what was known as a **Keyblade**. There were many different types and models of Keyblades, and the one the woman was holding was the **Lionheart** model, a long, silver, metallic blade with an emblem of a lion under the end of it, with a circular hand guard. "when you have this, and my skills, nothing can touch ya." He laughed again as she gripped the blade. It evaporated into a keychain of the lion emblem, as she attached it to her belt. "I suppose not. How have you been, Kit?" The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Alright. You?" "I've been fine. There's been a lot of Heartless in my area lately, so I've been quite busy." "Same here. There seem to be a lot more than usual in the last few weeks." "Yeah. Weird..."

The woman stood there, leaned against the corner of a building. Her smug, tempting expression was composed of deep, blue eyes hidden behind clear, lower-semicircular glasses. She wore a typical female soldier's uniform, which was a crimson outfit with ceremonial form all around it, including golden metal shoulder pads, one side of the front covering the other, attached by fancy sashes and buttons. Her outfit came with a skirt, which fell down to just above her knees. Her long, black, braided hair was topped off with a crimson cap decorated with a golden trim line around the bottom, a small blue crystal on the front, and a white, dome-like decoration on the top of it. Her right leg supported her as she kicked the corner with her left, her feet and lower legs covered by metallic light blue boots. A short silence followed before Kit's eyes lit up in shock. She pointed to the sky behind him. "Look!" He turned to look at what she had noticed. A loud screech was heard throughout the area, as the lightning revealed a hidden figure lurching on top of the building on the adjacent corner. "A **Wyvern**..."

The beast leapt off of the building and began descending. It was a brown-orange hue in color, with a tetrahedral head shape. On its chest was an emblem of a black heart; the insignia of the Heartless. On cue, the two instantly snatched their keychains from their places and held them to the sky. The male warrior shouted, "**Diamond Dust**!" as Kit shouted, "**Lionheart**!" The keychains began to glow, as random star-shaped sparks were seen orbiting them. With a flash, each keychain became light, as their shape expanded into their respective weapons. Gripping them, the two keyblade wielders dashed towards the Wyvern, their hands flowing behind them as they ran. The male then reached into his jacket and tossed up a small blue card with the image of a snowflake on it. "**Blizzard**!" he cried, as the card turned into light and flowed around his weapon, which then began to shoot bolts of ice. Screeching furiously, the airborne beast was hit face first with the snowy spell, as its wings became encased in ice. Unable to fly, the Wyvern came crashing into the pavement. The two warriors jumped back as the monster ceased its scraping movement where they had just been standing. Still screeching, it manage to shatter its cold shackles and break free, reascending into the night sky.

Seeing that ice wouldn't work, he pulled out yet another card with a blue border on it; this one had an image of a large flame on it. Searching through his pocket, he pulled out another card of the same type. Holding them together, he tossed them out in front of him, as they hovered side by side. With a horizontal slashing motion he struck them in succession. "**Fira**!" he chanted, as the two cards combusted into blazing balls of fire, which bound themselves to the other, generating a larger flame. The large fireball hung on the tip of the Keyblade, as the warrior carefully aimed at the Wyvern's head before thrusting forward, signaling the release of the spell, as the fireball took off. As the beast observed the ball of flame heading for it, it inhaled for a few seconds before spitting out a fireball of its own, nearly equal in size and intensity of the warrior's spell. As the two balls connected, they canceled each other out. The flames dissipated, leaving nothing accomplished from either side. "Looks like fire is useless as well..."

Kit bore a determined expression as she ran directly under the beast, holding her weapon upwards towards the beast. "OK, my turn! **Strike Raid**!" she cried, as the Keyblade was engulfed by a bright aura. Kit then spiraled around and hurtled the blade upwards, as it began to spin in midair, careening towards the beast. It was smart, though; smarter than it appeared. It began to soar through the air, in an attempt to dodge the projectile, which was closing in fast. It looped around and headed for the far direction. Kit smiled, as the spinning blade changed course and began to follow the dragon-like creature. The blade began to increase in speed as it gradually closed the gap between itself and the Wyvern. Just when it was about to contact, Kit drove her right palm upwards. "**Judgment**!" she cried, as the blade immediately halted, blade pointed towards the Wyvern, as it stopped and turned around to find out what happened. As it hovered there flapping, the blade began to emit vibrations and small, unnoticeable shockwaves. Over the next few seconds, the intensity began to increase, to the point where the shockwaves were blowing the Wyvern backwards. It angrily fought the force of the wave, trying to get its claws at the source of its pain. Kit let the blade's shockwaves dim slightly, as the beast got closer. Just before it could grab the Lionheart, Kit snapped her fingers, as the eyes on the lion emblem glowed red. A loud lion's growl echoed throughout the city as the blade then caused a gigantic explosion of fire. As the fog began to settle, the Keyblade returned to her undaunted or stained, as she swung it around after catching it. The cloud of dust settled, as the Wyvern hovered there, in suspended animation in an injured pose. After a few seconds, the black heart emblem on its chest glowed as the rest of its body dissolved into it. The emblem then dissolved into nothingness. In response to the monster's defeat, the two held their Keyblades up, returning them to keychain form, and attaching them to their respective keeping places.

The male looked to her. "Nice work." She winked happily in response. "You didn't do so bad yourself, _Ekiken_."

As he trudged through the streets, which were coated in a thin layer of icy snow, Ekiken covered himself with the loose sides of his jacket. It was around minus twenty degrees Celsius. The rain was still coming down, but not as hard; it had settled down to a drizzle, which didn't bother him that much. He was used to this kind of weather; it made frequent appearances with the type of climate this area had.

Soon he came to the center intersection of the city. He stared momentarily at the street signs; Saint Street and Heart Road. This intersection was the location of the city's biggest shopping mall, or was, rather. Ever since the Heartless attacks began to grow in frequency, they began to destroy property, and the city's population slowly began to decrease as people began evacuating. There was nobody left living in the city, and consequently, the Heartless had made this their main hangout. The four five-storie buildings sat as dead as the rest of the town. This was the perfect starting point for the eventual rebellion, to which Ekiken belonged, being a member of one of its strike force teams. He usually preferred to work alone, but would usually have to end up working with the rest of his team.

He approached the entrance to the subway, which was on the east-northeastern sidewalk of the Saint-Heart intersection. The stairway had been sealed shut, since the Heartless had destroyed the underground railway as well. Not hesitating, he made a swiping motion with his arm as he snapped his fingers. In reaction, the wall blocking the entrance rumbled and moved aside, closing back up as he entered. However, he didn't notice the eerie shadow that followed him in as he turned the northbound corner...

The floor inside depicted a huge, white heart with the word "SAENTHART" embroidered on a red sash graphic around it. This was the rebellion's emblem, and all the members' outer layers of clothes had this emblem on the left front, as Ekiken's jacket did. He passed countless people who were doing various things, such as mapping strategies, testing various spells, and crafting weapons. As for the use of Keyblades, this rebellion had studied the information on their existence they had read in legends, and had discovered a way to create their own. They were granted only to elite fighters who had performed exceptionally in recorded battles and test sequences. Ekiken, as well as Kit, were just such fighters.

Ekiken reached the end of the hallway, and passed through a large, ceremonial doorway, into a large room, clearly built by the Saenthart Rebellion and not previously existing in a normal subway station. A large, crescent-shaped desk was at the far end of the room, with a chair behind it. The chair turned around to reveal a woman sitting with her elbows on the rests, her fingers tented, and her right leg across the other. "Hey, Kit."


	2. A Step Into Darkness

Chapter 2: A Step Into Darkness

"Hey yourself." she responded, smirking. Kit pointed to the west side of the room and moved her hand to point at Ekiken, as a chair which was next to the wall moved over directly behind the warrior, who sat down right away. "Well, that went rather well." Ekiken nodded in response before his eyes widened in shock. He swiftly turned to see the shadow on the floor, jumping out of his chair, as Kit did as well. "Intruder!!" Kit shouted. The shadow flustered before appearing out of the ground, revealing a bunch of **Tornado Step** Heartless who began spinning at high speeds right away, tearing away at whatever they hit. They were dark turquoise in color, with teardrop-shaped heads, and two arms each, with no legs. Instead, they hovered and flew around causing intense winds. "Diamond Dust!" Ekiken called, brandishing his weapon, as Kit called forth her Lionheart. Every other fighter in the building revealed their weapons, be they Keyblades, swords, polearms, and various other weapons. The Tornado Steps kept emerging as the size of the shadow gradually decreased. The great battle began as every person with a weapon began to do battle with the Heartless invaders, as those without one grabbed whatever they could use. "Damnit, Ekiken, why didn't you check for the shadows?" Kit shouted, but her complaint was drowned out by the noise of clashing metal and battle cries.

Just then, Ekiken's voice echoed throughout the rooms, "Everybody! Triple Gravity Combination!" On cue, everyone reached into their pockets, each of them pulled out three blue-rimmed cards, each with a small image of a ball of dark energy on it. Tossing them into the air, the warriors struck their three cards in rapid succession, as each weapon began to glow a purple-black color. Aiming the edges at the Tornado Steps, each weapon emitted giant balls of gravity-inducing darkness, which, once they came into contact with the Heartless, slammed them into the ground. Most of the Tornado Steps were eliminated after this attack, their black heart emblems glowing before they dissipated into shadows and disappearing. About a third of them were left, and the warriors had no trouble dispersing them with regular attacks and spells.

Suddenly, Kit shrieked; the shadow that had spit out the Heartless had not left. It had actually begun to emanate an evil aura. Ekiken soon noticed, slowly turning the other way. "Everyone get out, now!!" With shouts of terror, the rebels turned for the exit and ran, as Kit stood on the other side, helpless. Ekiken watched the others escape, then turned to notice Kit staring in terror at the pulsating puddle of darkness. "Kit, get out of there!" She seemed to not hear his cry of warning, as she remained inanimate. Cursing under his breath, Ekiken ran for the far side of the hall towards her. Just before he could reach her, the pool of darkness exploded forth with dark energy, creating a wall of evil. He stopped just short of the barrier, throwing himself onto his back before rolling backwards, onto his left knee, gripping his Diamond Dust tightly. The area's foundation began to crumble, as Ekiken noticed the ceiling begin to come down. Large fragments of the ceiling had begun to crash onto the ground, and Ekiken had no choice but to escape. As more and more of the room began to collapse, the entrance was almost completely sealed off. Ekiken hurtled himself through the small opening just before it was closed off by the rubble, rolling forward as he landed. Getting to his feet, he leaped up the stairs, a large piece of the ceiling landing where he jumped from every time. He emerged from the entrance just as it became completely shut out, his final landing in the center of the street. He panted heavily; looking around to make sure everyone else had gotten out. The earth was still shaking, he noticed. He then realized that the rumbling was beginning to isolate its point of origin, zeroing in to the spot above where the back office underground was. "Kit..."

The rumbling began to grow in frequency and intensity, as the surfaced warriors prepared for the worst, spell cards on standby. With a mighty eruption, a wave of darkness spilled out from the hole. The warriors began to call out defensive spells and techniques, as Ekiken jumped out of the wave's path. He was horrified to see the wave somehow change course and begin heading for him. "Damnit, it wants me!!" Ekiken thought, as he repeatedly dodged the oncoming wave. Once all of it had exited the hole, he made a break for it, hoping to find Kit. He dove into the hole just as the wave flew over it, not redescending into it. Instead, the wave leaked a few drops, which expanded into a **Large Body** Heartless, a fat, soldieresque being. After double taking the new enemy, Ekiken noticed Kit's motionless body. Picking her up, he put her over his shoulder, holding her in place with his left hand while gripping his weapon in his right. He stuck it in the sheath on his belt, then reached into his coat, taking out another spell card, with an image of a clock on it. He tossed it up and pierced it with his Keyblade, performing **Stop** on the Large Body, freezing it in time. The wave disappeared from the hole before Ekiken leapt out of it, still carrying the body of Kit.

The warriors had managed to keep the darkness busy, but it kept releasing various Heartless, which they had to deal with. "Entrap it within a set boundary!" Ekiken shouted, giving them a strategy. Four random warriors arranged themselves in a square formation around the perimeter of the area the wave was destroying, and each tossed and pierced three Blizzard cards each, aiming their ice of the adjacent members, forming a large, solid box of ice. They kept pumping energy into the ice, as the wave was successfully trapped within it. The warriors who were within the barrier used Aero spells, which had tornadoes on their cards, to fly themselves out of the area. Ekiken then pulled out a card, which was yellow-rimmed. "**Keyhole**!" he cried, as he activated the card, aiming his Diamond Dust at the icy wall. A shockwave hit it, as a small, keyhole shaped pattern appeared on it. Ekiken made a whirling motion before aiming at the icy wall again, specifically at the keyhole shape. "**Keyhole Sealing Beam**!" Ekiken cried, as the tip emitted a small, cyan beam of light. The beam went straight through the keyhole, as a loud, locking sound was heard. At that instant, the giant, icy dome, as well as its contents, faded away, revealing the empty street intersection, which had been cleared of snow as well. Ekiken sighed in relief as the warriors recalled their weapons, now confused as to what to do. Ekiken then gently put Kit on the ground and tried to wake her up, repeatedly calling her name in a panicky tone. He then noticed her eyes were open, her pupils wide, but she didn't appear to be conscious at all. He realized the shocking truth. "It... it took her heart..."

The other members of the rebellion gathered around, each bearing saddened expressions, some bowing their heads in quiet respect. As Ekiken sat there, tears fell from his face. "I will avenge you, no matter what... I swear it..." Once the tears ceased, he got to his feet, head still bowed. His voice rang out clearly, "Listen. Kit's heart has been taken by the Heartless. I will go after the wave and follow it. Someone with a Keyblade, seal us back in after I get in." The others gasped, but Ekiken didn't hesitate. He immediately took the Keyhole card he had used and threw it on the ground, as it shattered open. The icy dome then began to appear, rising out of the ground without any quaking. Ekiken stood on the peak of it, the breeze blowing his jacket and hair back. Swirling his blade around, he leapt into the air and drove the Diamond Dust through the ice, penetrating it effortlessly, as he fell through the hole. A random rebel stepped forward, and aimed his Kingdom Key Keyblade at the Keyhole slot, using the Sealing Beam technique to reseal the icy dome, with the wave - and Ekiken - inside, as the icy dome faded, yet again. The boy's face was riddled with tears.

Ekiken could see nothing but complete darkness. Gradually, he felt the ground beneath him fade away, until he seemed to be floating in nothingness. He envisioned himself rescuing Kit in his mind for the next few minutes, and before he knew it, he had landed on something. He opened his eyes to discover he had successfully emerged within the inner workings of the dark wave. It was a horrifying sight; the walls pulsated and glowed in vein-like formations all around the elliptical wall. Various creepy formations came from the walls, ceiling, and ground, which seemed to transfer pulses of dark energy between each other. Once Ekiken had fully materialized within this bizarre place, he began to felt a sharp sting all over his body. The dark energy within the wave was hacking away at him. He immediately pulled out one of his **Gravity** cards and activated it, surrounding himself in a boundary of dark energy. Not able to be harmed by his own spells, the ball of gravity darkness kept him safe. He kept it going as he proceeded forward, deeper into the bowels of the evil being. As he began to look around, he noticed all of the strains of darkness seemed to originate from one point. He couldn't see too far ahead because the dark was fogging his vision somewhat, but he followed the strands of darkness, against their flow direction.

After a few minutes, he reached a large, temple-like formation, to which he noticed the dark formations were connected, absorbing the energy from the building. Entering it, the darkness in the air seemed to thin out, as the Gravity spell wore out, but it was no longer necessary, he could walk about freely inside somehow. Focusing on the task at hand, Ekiken continued to the "altar room" dead ahead. As he approached it, he could make out the moaning of a female voice. "Kit? No..." This voice was different than Kit's, much higher in tone. Reacting to his words, a pair of eyes lit up a deep violet color in the darkness, as Ekiken was startled. The fog cleared almost instantly to reveal some sort of girl hovering in the epicentre of the dark formations, it appearing that the dark energy was flowing out of her. "What's this?!" she called in a high-pitched shriek. "How did you get in here?!" Ekiken frowned, expecting a battle, as he gripped his Keyblade. The dark maiden noticed the weapon in his hand. "A Keyblade! That must be it... Die, Keyblade wielder!" The girl thrusted her hands forward, as streams of darkness rose from the ground, ready to pounce on him. Ekiken prepared for battle.

The girl let out a loud shriek as she fully extended all of her limbs outward. The room reacted, as more streams of dark energy crept out of the walls and ceiling. She then pointed at Ekiken, as random streams shot themselves at the Key master. Using sheer adrenaline, he dodged each stream that came at him, as they formed a complex web of dark energy. As each strand shot out, there was less and less room to move that wasn't covered by evil energy. "Damnit..." As he was backed into a corner, he had no choice but to invoke his **Aero** card, allowing him to fly. He spun his Diamond Dust as he hurtled himself towards the girl, hoping to sever her from the darkness, in the off-chance that she was just being controlled and was not truly evil. He flew up to her from the eight, and sliced through the thin line of energy flow beside her, as a big spark blew him into the wall. The formation on her left collapsed, as the girl fell to her left side, no longer supported on her sinistral side. Around half of the streams that spread across the floor evaporated, just in time for the Aero spell to wear off. Ekiken fell to the ground, landing between three streams, sighing in relief.

The girl turned to him, obviously extremely angered. Ekiken jumped out of the way as she shot a bolt of dark energy at him, missing him slightly, as he rolled to his feet in the clearing between her and the wall. "OK, time to end this." he thought, as he pulled out a spell card with a image of a lightbulb on it, piercing it with his weapon. "**Light**!" he called, as the card exploded with a burst of light. The darkness evaporated and dissipated in reaction. The girl shrieked in pain, as the other formation connected to her was destroyed. A few loud firecracker-like cracks were heard, as the girl fell to the ground, all dark influences removing themselves from her.

All of the streams and dark energy left the dark temple, even after the light spell had faded. The girl sat, slowly waking from her trance. "Ugh... Where am I...?" she barely managed to say, still a little shaky from the sudden relief of the darkness that had been controlling her. Ekiken walked over to her and helped her to her feet. The girl had lightly pink-tinted hair, with a headband tied around the top of her hair. Her eyes sparkled a deep red. She wore a dark purple outfit, with shoulderless arms, and pant legs that reached below her knees. She wore pink leather shoes with small, wing-like decorations on them. "Come on, we'd better find a way out of here." As she stood up, Ekiken noticed a card fall out of her pocket. Picking it up, he smiled. He threw the card up and striked it with his Keyblade. "Exit!" The Diamond Dust then shot out a thick, yellow beam, which penetrated the ceiling of the temple, and then the roof of the creature. Ekiken recalled his weapon and stashed it in his pocket as he and the girl leapt out of it, feeling a hard shockwave as they passed through the surface.

Just before they could completely pass the perimeter of the beast, Ekiken felt something tug on his right foot, as his ascent came to a halt. He looked down to see one of the dark formations that had held the girl wrapped around his foot. It sent jolts of electricity through his body as he cringed in pain, his effort to escape foiled by a mere thread of dark energy. Now out of strength, Ekiken began to fall back into the depths.

Chapter 1  
Chapter 3 


	3. Weapon of Twilight

Chapter 3: Weapon of Twilight

He and the girl landed back into the room they had just tried to leave, as she was flung into the corner of the room. Ekiken landed right in the center, as a mysterious shadow loomed over the hole in the ceiling. The unknown creature then leapt in, making its descent right in front of Ekiken. On the ground, Ekiken coughed as he lifted his head to see what this new affront to their liberty was.

The creature that stood before him was humanoid in shape, about the same size as a regular person. However, it bore plenty of thin, dark armor, covering every bit of whatever equivalent of skin it may or may not have had. Its face was covered by a mahogany knight's helmet which bore bat-like wings coming from the back corners at the top. The wings hung down slightly, mimicking the wings on his back, which Ekiken had just noticed. It's lower body was cloaked under a long, temple knight's robe which was a sort of purple-mahogany hybrid. It gripped a long, polearm weapon - a glaive - which had a deep violet tint; its blade tempered in black. "I've never seen this kind of Heartless before." Ekiken whispered to himself. The thing before him seemed to hear him as it twirled its weapon quite rapidly before abruptly halting its rotation, its blade now mere centimeters from Ekiken's nose. "I am no Heartless!" it cried out in a mid-pitched tone. Ekiken rolled to the side, getting to one knee, as the creature brandished its weapon, obviously wanting to fight. Noticing this, Ekiken checked to see if the girl was alright without moving his head, so as not to alert his opponent, then pulled out his keychain. "You want a fight? So be it! Prepare for the hail! **Diamond Dust**!" The knight stepped back in shock. "A Keyblade?!" Ekiken spiraled around as the keychain exploded into the long, icy saber; the armed enemy snarling in annoyance at his foe's possession of the sword.

The two circled each other steadily, neither one making a move. Each had their arms tense, gripping their respective weapons, ready to pounce at the slightest whim. This steady motion continued for several minutes before someone did something. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Ekiken boasted, smirking. No immediate response came, as they continued to walk around each other. Around half a minute passed before the knight responded. "I'm waiting... for you... to attack... Come on... coward..." he answered, each fragment of the sentence in sync with his steady movement. His expression returning to one of blank determination, Ekiken steadily let go of the sword with the hand that the knight could not see, as he cautiously dug into his jacket pocket. However, in doing so, the loose bottom of the jacket fluttered. The knight noticed this, and immediately made a break for Ekiken, driving his glaive out in front of him with an angry cry. Not caring what card he had picked, Ekiken immediately tossed out whatever card he had grabbed, hoping it was something that could stop him. He struck the card with his blade, and instantly, the knight froze up completely, halted where he stood. "Excellent, I must've grabbed **Stop**. This will keep him occupied for a few minutes." Recalling his weapon, Ekiken put away his keychain, reclaimed the unconscious body of the girl, and one again began his ascension from the dark wave.

Meanwhile, back at the city, the rebels gasped in relief as Kit slowly opened her eyes. "E... Ekiken..." As if on cue, a spiral pillar of light began to rise from the center of the square where the wave had been sealed, which had already been covered with a thin layer of snow. The snow joined the spiral of the light, forming a snowy tornado, which then exploded to reveal the Keyblade wielder on one knee, carrying the girl on his back. He got to his feet before he helped her to the ground, as the Saenthart rebels cheered with joy that Ekiken had returned safely, as Kit sat up, also happy to see him; happy to see anything, rather. He saw her sitting there, and immediately rushed over. "Kit! Are you OK?" She weakly nodded. "I'll be fine; don't worry yourself." Ekiken nodded before returning to the befuddled young girl kneeling on the pavement.

"Hey, are you OK? That creature seemed to be drawing strength from you." The girl weakly nodded. "I don't remember anything... except my name. I'm Holly, I think." She held her head in confusion. "Oh!" her eyes lit up. "I remember that I have this!" She dug into her right hip pocket and pulled out a small keychain shaped like a star, which was orange colored. Everyone but Ekiken gasped in amazement, as his eyes lit up. "Th- the Oathforger!!" Kit exclaimed. "Oh? You know about my Keyblade?" Holly asked, eyes blinking in oblivion. "This is the Twilight Keyblade, **Oathforger**." Ekiken explained, "We've heard stories about it; it's supposedly very powerful, though we're not sure about the extent of its abilities. How did they capture you with that at your disposal?" Holly's expression turned to one of shy innocence. "I... I don't really have much swordplay skill." Kit laughed eccentrically. "Just watch us! You'll learn in no time!" Holly nodded in unsure compliance.

More rumbling was then felt from underground. Ekiken rolled his eyes on annoyance. "Oh cripes, what now...?" The star on the Oathforger began to pulsate, emanating a small aerial vibration in a pattern that seemed like a warning. As if they couldn't already tell something was wrong. The building on the northeastern corner of the intersection began to crumble away. Something was coming. Something big. "As if we need another giant monster." Kit said, obviously speaking sarcastically. As the large group of fighters prepared for battle, the building began to crumble away, as walls came down in pieces, whoever was under the descending rubble getting out of the way with little hesitance. With one last, tense rumble, the building exploded completely, as everyone immediately used their **Shield** cards to deflect the rubble from the demolished building. Before the dust could settle, it was sucked into whatever was behind it, in a vortex-like motion, as the fog was sucked up into the large, looming figure of darkness. It was bigger than the building, by a meter at least. It had a humanoid shape, with arms and legs. Its "feet" were long and upwards curved. Its head had Medusa-like "hair," in long, thin, spikes. In the center of its body was a large, heart-shaped hole. A Heartless, without a doubt. Ekiken's eyes narrowed in realization. "**Darkside**..."

Everyone brandished their weapons as the battle began. Half of the rebels began to hack away at the beast physically as the other half began shooting off random spells at it. Ekiken and Kit knew a more strategic approach was necessary, as they examined the battlefield. Kit pointed to the building beside the one the Darkside had come out of. "Let's attack it from the roof there; from behind." Ekiken nodded, as he motioned for Holly to follow. The three dodged the battle and approached the building; formerly an apartment. Breaking through the door with a hard slash, Ekiken entered, looking for the quickest way up. The others followed him in as Ekiken failed to get the elevator to function. He slammed the elevator's doors in frustration as Holly pointed out the stairwell entrance to them. Sighing in defeat, Ekiken led them up the stairs, ascending the spiral staircase several floors before kicking down the door at the top, revealing the roof of the apartment. They could clearly see the back of the Darkside's head, to just below its shoulders. "Alright, so what should we try?" Kit asked. "We may only have one shot." Ekiken took out his remaining cards. All he had left was a **Thunder** card, an Aero** card, **and a **Cure** card. Not much help. "Let's each try a sleight; we'll dish out a string of attacks in succession. Ready?" Kit and Holly nodded, gripping their respective swords in front of them.

Each of them then dashed towards the beast, with Ekiken leading, then Kit, and Holly bringing up the rear. Leaping off the edge, Ekiken's cry echoed throughout the city. "**Ars Arcanum**!" The Diamond Dust flashed a bright cyan color before Ekiken became a mere blur of existence, moving incredibly fast as he swiped and slashed at the Darkside with the Keyblade, as large, white scrapes began to appear on the Heartless's "skin." As the last blow connected, Kit leapt off of the building. Ekiken called his Aero card to bring him safely to the ground as he turned to observe his allies' attacks. Kit hovered in mid air, caught between gravity and her own momentum, as her Lionheart began to glow. "**Strike Raid**!" she called as he hurtled her blade forward, over the Darkside's head. Just before it hit the ground, it halted, immediately beginning to spin at a high rate. It then drove itself through the night sky, straight for the face of Darkside. With its large size and body density, it wasn't swift enough to dodge the oncoming assault, and it was hit squarely in the forehead with the weapon; the key accurately stuck in its head. Curving her hands around each other, she cried, "**Judgment**!" as the key began to vibrate increasingly powerfully. The Darkside's skin began to ripple in response, causing it great pain, as it cringed and roared. Snapping her fingers, Kit signaled the end of her attack, as the key let out a loud roar from the lion emblem on the end which was currently lodged in the Darkside's head, before releasing a large explosion. As the dust shot out, the Lionheart returned to Kit, undamaged, before she grabbed onto the side of the building and made her way down, jumping to the pavement where the others stood, ready to act if necessary. Holly stood on the ledge of the building, ready to unleash her attack once she could see her target. The beast once again sucked in the dust like a whirlpool, as Holly leaped off of the roof on reflex, chanting, "**Aerial Sweep**!" in a determined voice, as she thrusted her Keyblade to the right, as her body followed, sending her into a spiral. The Keyblade connected with the Heartless, as she began her rotating assault. Each hit connected, deepening the scars Ekiken's attack had left. After about five hits, her momentum had stopped, as she immediately called her own **Aero** card to bring her down to the others.

The Darkside writhed around, unable to withhold its pain. Then, in its wild movements it spotted Holly. It then halted, its skin releasing small amounts of smoke. It slowly began to extend its right hand towards her, possibly in an attempt to grab her. Ekiken and Kit immediately intervened, brandishing their blades and stepping between it and her, both with determined expressions on their battle-worn faces. The Darkside's hand came back a bit, hesitant to try and break through them. Instead, its eyes glowed for a second, as small shadows appeared beside both of the two defenders. Out of each shadow came two **Gargoyle** Heartless, as they both turned to meet the challenge, Holly gawked between both of them, unsure what to do. She shrieked as she noticed the real danger; the Darkside was once again reaching for her. Acting instantly, the rebel warriors surrounded her, each one ready to defend the rescuee. Yet again the Darkside pulled back its attempt, clenching its fist in frustration.

Meanwhile, Ekiken and Kit had their hands busy dealing with a two-pronged attack from the Gargoyles. Every time they would lock with one, the other would come up from behind and attack them. "OK, enough of this," Kit thought, now frustrated beyond caution. "**Firaga**!" she called, breaking three **Fire** cards, as a fireball twice as big as the Fira appeared at the tip of the Lionheart. The Gargoyles backed off as Kit motioned for them to come. "Who wants some, huh?" They floated there with no response, as Kit kept looking back and forth, getting more and more annoyed. "OK, you both get it up the rear!" Rolling forward, she landed on her back underneath the Gargoyles and then fired the giant ball of flame upwards, as the two flying Heartless crumbled and dissolved from the intense heat, leaving no remains. Ekiken had already finished off his enemies with another go of Ars Arcanum.

The rebels had been fighting off the Darkside during this time, moderately succeeding. However, their resistance was beginning to wear, as the Darkside began firing spheres of dark energy at those which stood between itself and its frightened prize. In an angry rage it began to shoot out energy pulses, which did little damage, but scattered them across the intersection. Ekiken and Kit's attention was called back to the main threat, as they promptly stood between Holly and the Darkside, blades held in a classic swordfighter's pose. The creature's temper rose again as it began to slam the ground with its fist, dark vortexes forming in each crater. Clusters of Shadows crept out of each of them, as they engaged the Saenthart soldiers. The Darkside took a step forward, as it began to advance towards the three. Holly, who had been sitting there, in fear of the whole situation, finally overcame her fear and took a stance between Ekiken and Kit, Oathforger brandished. "You won't have me!" she shouted to it; it seemed to ignore her as it crept towards them, its hand ready to snatch her. Ekiken and Kit looked at each other, then nodded. They leapt at each other, soaring beside each other, landing where the other had stood, as they let their Keyblades flow behind them. Once they had stopped, the two Keyblades' edges were touching, as a spark of light energy appeared. "**Suihou**!" they both shouted, as the spark immediately formed a large, clear sphere which expanded into a dome which protected the three of them. The Keyblades parted as the dome split into three separate bubbles around each of them. "Holly!" Kit called, "this will protect you, and you can use the energy to power up your attack if you need to!" Holly firmly nodded as Ekiken and Kit began their next attack. By this point the Darkside was directly in front of Holly, but as it reached down to grab her, the shield forced it back with a burst of light.

The light seemed to be poisonous to the beast, as it held its arm and cringed; a spark of light still on its hand. With one flash, the Darkside's entire right arm had disappeared. This had been the others' cue to attack. Ekiken pierced the surface of the bubble with the Diamond Dust, as the shield began to fade into the weapon. "**Ligh Arcanum**!" he shouted, as he had his weapon absorb the entire shield. Kit, too, had drained the shield's defensive power into her weapon, before shouting, "**Strike Light**!" Kit hurtled the light-charged weapon at the Darkside, as Ekiken dashed towards it, releasing a cavalcade of attacks upon it, each leaving a large, light-made scar. The spinning Lionheart attacked the beast in a spiral formation, making a clean cut around its body. The light scars began to widen, as its entire body was soon engulfed in light. It growled in pain as it completely disappeared, the light charges disappearing. The Shadows the Saenthart had been fighting disappeared too. Kit caught her weapon as Holly sighed a breath of relief. Suddenly, with a burst of light, a large, blue, heart-shaped energy appeared. "Its evil soul..." Ekiken said in awe. The pulse of energy began to ascend, returning to its origin. Before it could take off, a beam of energy came out of the sky and absorbed it, taking it back to where the beam had come from. Everyone's attention was called to the beam's source, as a familiar figure emerged from the sky, landing on the roof of the northwestern building. Ekiken's eyes widened in horror. "It's..."

"Well, if it isn't my worthy adversary from inside the wave." it exclaimed, holding the air below the evil heart as it hovered there. It was the knight Ekiken had fought when he had rescued Holly. "Tell me! Who are you?" he demanded to it. The knight laughed amusedly before continuing. "I go by the name... Ixida."  
"Ixida...?" Kit said to herself. "Ekiken, do you know this weirdo?" He nodded in response. "I fought him after I had rescued Holly while I was still in the wave." His attention returned to Ixida. "What is it you want?"  
"I'll show you!" he shouted, as he drew his weapon. "Behold; the **Keyglaive**; a weapon which can harness the power of a defeated Heartless!" He tossed the blue heart into the air before stabbing it through with his polearm, as it evaporated itself into the cold, black, metal point of the weapon. The weapon itself then grew in length, as a curved hand guard appeared in the two places Ixida was holding it. "You see?" Kit and Holly gasped in horror, as Ekiken tightened his grip. "You leech! I'll get rid of you once and for all!" Ekiken leapt towards the knight, jumping from windowsill to windowsill in an attempt to reach him. "Ah ah ah," Ixida said happily, "Red light! **Stop**!" He pointed the Keyglaive at Ekiken, as a faint image of a clock appeared on the glaive's tip before Ekiken froze completely. _Damn you..._ Ekiken thought. "Haha! Ironic, isn't it!" Spinning his weapon, he shouted, "**Flight**!" as he began to hover in the air. He leapt off the building and floated next to Ekiken's halted body. Before he had been stopped he had grabbed onto the window, so he was stuck hanging on there instead of falling. He floated behind Ekiken and laughed. "Well, isn't this familiar?"

He then backed off and called off the Stop spell. "That's it for now; we'll fight soon enough. I'd like to see how far you can get." He ascended slightly, swirling his weapon in the sky. A large vortex appeared, as Ixida disappeared into it; the vortex closing once he was through.


End file.
